Editorial: Feds help Valley View, not that it may matter

Tuesday

May 27, 2014 at 1:47 PMMay 27, 2014 at 1:52 PM

Depending on the outcome of a pending lawsuit, the big news from the Orange County Legislature last week will be either another significant advance toward making continued ownership of the Valley View nursing home more affordable or just an odd footnote.

The news came in an annual account of federal aid. For years legislators trying to get a handle on real costs counted the annual federal payment as revenue. Those who wanted to sell the home would argue that you can’t count money until it goes into the bank account, even though they routinely used estimates of revenue and expenses for most other items on the spreadsheet.

Besides, who knew if the feds would keep paying?

Those gloomy predictions crumbled year after year when the money arrived as promised. And now, because the county still owns Valley View even as the new administration slithers through loopholes to get rid of it, the latest check has arrived. And it’s a large one.

Last year the feds sent $5.8 million, this time they sent $10 million. To get the money the county has to come up with half in matching dollars, and even those who have dedicated themselves to disposing of Valley View would have to admit that a $10 million return on a $5 million investment is pretty good.

If the county sells the home, all of this will go into the archives. If the lawsuit challenging the sale succeeds, this money will be part of a renewed debate about the real costs and the real opportunities to increase revenue and decrease expenses.